After years of my powering through, my body never changed.
It felt like the only thing I got from the gym was frustrated… and a lighter wallet.
But I’m done with all that.
We will get fit once and for all, together.
OK, first, a disclosure: I started my career as a model.
But I’m not one of those models who are preternaturally skinny.
In the past, I’ve gone to extremes to get the body I wanted.
When I started in fashion 10 years ago, at age 19, super-scary thin was in.
To get jobs, I smoked.
I developed a complicated relationship with food.
I exercised in a totally random way.
One month, I’d run.
Another month, I’d take classes.
Then, recently, something happened.
I was at the gym and I dropped to do push-ups.
By the third one, my arms were trembling.
By the fifth, I couldn’t raise my body off the floor.
I was discouraged and downright angry.
How the hell could I have spent all this time (and money!)
on the gym and still not be able to do five measly push-ups?
From then on, I made a change.
I realized over time, I’d been thinking about my body and my workouts all wrong.
I’d been working toward a totally unrealistic ideal.
I decided I was going to be strong and healthy rather than just ridiculously skinny.
I’ve arrived at a new headspace where consistency and fun are my fitness goals.
Now I can do those push-ups.
But more to the point, I’mlikingmy body, broad shoulders and all.
Some days, we’re going to have tod-r-a-gour butts to the gym, cursing the whole way.
But however and whenever we do it, we’re in it together, as a team.
Look for me in these pages soon; until then, I’ll blog about my progress at Self.com.
Join me there, and I’ll cheer you on and share tips.
If I can count on you, you might definitely count on me.
What do you say?
Get fluent in fitness.Building fitness is like learning a language.
It happens through repetition.
You teach your body new ways to move.
With practice every day, it will become second nature.
It all counts.I get inspired by a YouTube video called “Small Tasks.”
It reminds me that little things we do (like crunches during commercials) add up.
Every decision you make from this moment forward matters.
And that’s the whole point.
Photo Credit: Marcus Mam
